The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is an amazing national treasure just west of the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex on Alaska’s North Slope. At 23.5 million acres, the Reserve is our nation’s largest single unit of public land, and is home to iconic Arctic species such as polar and brown bears, walrus, beluga whales, and the Western Arctic and Teshekpuk Lake caribou herds. The Reserve’s wetland complexes provide nesting and molting habitat for many migratory birds that we see in the Lower 48 like tundra swans and snow geese. What’s more, the Reserve’s lands and waters provide for the Inupiat people of Alaska’s North Slope for their subsistence culture.
President Harding established the Naval Petroleum Reserve‐Alaska in 1923 as an emergency supply for the U.S. Navy. Congress transferred management of the Reserve from the U.S. Navy to the Interior Department in 1976, and required the Secretary of Interior to provide “maximum protection” for the Reserve’s critical biological and cultural resources.
Early this fall, the U.S. House of Representatives may vote on a bill that will fundamentally change the future of the Reserve. Continuing their effort to undermine our nation’s environmental laws and conservation legacy, Members of Congress will vote this week to change the very meaning of the Reserve to explicitly designate it for the purpose of providing oil and natural gas resources to the United States. Members will also vote on the future of Teshekpuk Lake, one of the most well-known and well-loved places in the Reserve. As one of the most unique habitats in the Arctic, Teshekpuk Lake is home to large numbers of shore and water birds, gray wolves, grizzly bears, polar bears, and caribou.
Call your Representative today and urge them to vote against this terrible legislation and in favor of our nation’s natural treasure in the western Arctic.
Thanks so much for helping us keep Alaska wild!
